Did anyone else have a teen dance club?
Posted by jenesia-CakeEatnNPC-@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 149 comments
Posted by jenesia-CakeEatnNPC-@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 149 comments
cmgww@reddit
Tippy Dance Hall. It was in Northern Indiana, Located on the shore of Lake Tippecanoe. they used to be an actual concert venue with some pretty big name acts coming through town back in the 60s, then converted to a team club in the 80s. It was only during the summer, but it was really fun. I went from age 13 to just after I graduated. Every Saturday night in the summer, and a few bonus nights on holiday weekends. Still probably the loudest set up I’ve ever heard, and I’ve been to some really big clubs around the world. Probably the source of my tinnitus. Sadly it closed around 2013 or so. It was odd because the place was packed, a new owner had taken it and revamped it. I kind of knew the guy since was friends of friends. He said the kids just stopped coming all of a sudden. Literally from one summer to the next.
No_Wrangler_4450@reddit
This shit was so much fun!! Bummed for future generations that they’re closed now
cmgww@reddit
Awesome to hear someone else who experienced tippy dance hall!! what years did you go? even as late as 2013 that place was packed every Saturday night. I talked with the DJ since I was kind of acquaintances with him…. It’s a long story but between him kind of getting burned out and the kids just not coming, he decided to stop doing it. A limp on in 2014 and 2015 with a different DJ but it was not the same. The guy told me at least in his opinion, it was due to smart phones and all of that getting big right around that time. The kids just weren’t coming out anymore. I’m bummed too because I have three sons who would’ve really liked it.
No_Wrangler_4450@reddit
Yeah I’m not surprised technology ruined things :( I think kids are finally starting to realize they’re missing out so maybe it’ll come back who knows. I was in HS 07-11 so I went more than a handful of times between those years. Hbu?? Do you remember all the kids there on rumspringa? Lol they made it so fun tbh
cmgww@reddit
I was there earlier, 1993-2000. Met sooo many girls there, or girls I had met on the lake and we all ended up there. We had a summer lake place so we were there every weekend. Popped back in, maybe 2012 bc the DJ had done a ton of renovations and I wanted to see it....obviously didn't stay to dance since I was in my 30s, lol. He had invited me to check out the upgrades. And yes I remember the Amish. Crazy stuff. Until about 1997 or so it was pretty sketchy, but when they got rid of in house security and went to sheriff's deputies, the place cleaned up. Mostly lake kids and locals, but the typical hoodlums at teen clubs got busted or stayed away. I think it's location made it unique. And it stayed open much longer than most teen dance clubs do. Mid 1980s to 2013 is a pretty good run.
friggityFrankel@reddit
In South Jersey we had The Milkbar. Or Teen Club Erotica, as NBC News would report on it…
Ok-Necessary123@reddit
There was a club called La-Boom in Metro Detroit that at the time was out in the sticks in Walled Lake that was an under 18 club in the late 90s. It was somewhat sketchy but we would roll in with our own crew and pretty much kept to ourselves.
We would usually take a bunch of pulls of of pints of SoCo or Peach snapps in the parking lot before going in. The girls in our group just wanted to dance. Then we got to grind with them. Lots of grinding. Nothing better than grinding with your hs gf at the time.
There were definitely plenty of dudes that looked way older and this was in peak sweater vest era.
SanPadrigo@reddit
Club 2000 (ironically it went out of business before the year 2000)
REO_Speed_Dragon@reddit
We had raves
Ckn-bns-jns@reddit
We had 16+ clubs here in Orange County, CA.
funemployed1234@reddit
Shout out to liquid, kokomos, and anomaly
Ckn-bns-jns@reddit
Kokomos was where we went most. Then it was the Boogie for 18+.
funemployed1234@reddit
Omg the boogie I forgot! Looking back at kokomos...it had so many adult men I didn't even think was weird at the time. Now I'm like whoa such a creepy choice for someone 21+ lol
Ckn-bns-jns@reddit
I remember kids using fake birth certificates to get into Kokomos. 😂
-Odi-Et-Amo-@reddit
Yes. We had under 18 clubs.
CarbonInTheWind@reddit
Ours was called The Frog. It was literally in the middle of nowhere. Probably because I grew up in corn country.
thejunkmanadv@reddit
Being in a rural are it was the same. Local Bar/Clubs in the "big town" (30K+ population) would have under 18 nights usually on Wednesday or Thursday's in the summer. $5 cover usually.
CarbonInTheWind@reddit
Ours was in the middle of some corn fields about a 15 minute drive from the nearest town.
thejunkmanadv@reddit
Ours was a 65 mile drive (so like an hour). You had to be committed, lol. Actually it was a neat experience because you were essentially socializing with people within around a 70 mile radius. Most of me and my friends went weekly. These places were always packed and I can remember numerous times being shut down/cleared out for being over capacity by the fire marshal.
You were "somebody" if you showed up. I can still smell the cigarettes and AXE/Exclamation!
No_Teaching5025@reddit
NEVER talk about Teen Dance Club
critical_patch@reddit
This made me remember Teen Girl Squad!
thejunkmanadv@reddit
badchefrazzy@reddit
I was too busy being bullied and traumatized to go to any dance clubs.
caramelpupcorn@reddit
Same. Had a hard time leaving the house in general. Hope things are better for you now 🤗
badchefrazzy@reddit
Still a hermit irl but a total nutball online, am doing okay :D
caramelpupcorn@reddit
Happy to hear that! 😁
Phyddlestyx@reddit
Tropix, in Minneapolis "18 to party, 21 to drink!"
anannanne@reddit
And Waterworks and Club Cancun!
Tropix was kind of gross. On teen night (16+), the teens couldn’t go into the main room (where there was booze), but there was no issue with the 21+ crowd coming into the teen room. There were definitely some creepers.
IndependentPain2021@reddit
The Albatross in Mankato too
Phyddlestyx@reddit
I only went once
Noisechild@reddit
Jubilations Chicago Heights.
XjuicemanX@reddit
Sunday Night Dance Party at 1st Ave. In Minneapolis
nonexistentnight@reddit
Here in Philly we had Shampoo, which had a number of 18+ nights, or 18+ rooms as part of larger events. I never went while underage. One of them was Nocturne, a three room goth party with what I think was a 16+ room. I went a few times when I was 21+ and the underage room was completely nuts. Basically teenagers in their underwear freaking out to Rammstein. Felt skeezy even back then.
Whatchab@reddit
Fort Ram.
It was so much fun. Best days. Honestly, it was for middle school kids and pretty dumb, but so much fun.
It later turned into The Matrix, which was an actual club, but it was at least 18 and up.
Fort Collins, CO.
Head-Studio2727@reddit
Club abyss Sayreville nj 🔥🔥🔥
fairlyaveragetrader@reddit
They used to be really common, I remember going to a few pretty much right when I turned 18. They used to have the strip clubs called juice bars too, 18 and over there as well
BraveLittleToaster8@reddit
Boston area, we had The Palace/Bahama Beach Club. The Sundays of school vacation weeks were the best.
penguinsfan40@reddit
Club Zoo in Parkway Center Mall, Pittsburgh
rkrismcneely@reddit
Yep, met my high school girlfriend there.
Snugglebunny1983@reddit
I went to our local teen dance club once with a friend of mine's cousin. She ran off to buy drugs. Last time I was allowed to go there.
Fletch_0@reddit
Zero Gravity in the Chicago Suburbs
Yifkong@reddit
Q101 was 90% ads for this place
FAFTW@reddit
Been to ZG there and the one in Merrivllie
bwrobel12@reddit
Knew a guy that got a fake ID to make himself younger ( he was in his early 20s) so he could get into zero gravity. As soon as he told us that, we called him a creep and that was the last we ever spoke to him.
Southside_john@reddit
Never went there because my friends and I just smoked weed all the time and it wasn’t our scene lol. A lot of people I know went though
cookjerk@reddit
I saw pink there right before she got famous
blkhrthrk@reddit
I was a regular there from my teens until I turned 21. Now it's an old folks home 😄
_hi_plains_drifter_@reddit
We had one near the Flint, Michigan area called “EZ Street”. Went to a few parties there when I was younger.
techieveteran@reddit
In Boise people talked about this place called Limelight back in the 90s. I don’t think it existed
Smashingistrashing@reddit
There was a place called Bogie’s in downtown the 90s. It was all ages. I went there when I was 12. Such a bad idea.
SailNW@reddit
Escape aka Club Z. Queer teen dance club in Portland. It was our place on the weekends. I’m bi and my best friends were a gay couple. Amazing that we had this in the early 2000s.
critical_patch@reddit
We went to The Mix Factory in downtown Nashville!
Comfortable-Pea-1312@reddit
Backstreets
fosterhamster@reddit
I don't remember what it was called but it was under the post office in Chapel Hill, NC
Pankosmanko@reddit
Yeah, it was called “The Backdoor” and was around the back of a movie theater. Lots of jokes were made about that one
teriKatty@reddit
We had one for about a year or 2 locally and it was called 20 Below. I can’t remember if I ever visited it because it closed/changed before I was old enough to be interested in it.
Awkward-Adeptness-75@reddit
Yes, Rock Island in Denver, CO.
Jerkrollatex@reddit
The Abyss. Virginia Beach, Virginia. It's a parking lot now. The city closed it down because they're assholes.
adamosity1@reddit
Einstein’s-A-Go-Go, Jacksonville Beach, FL. Very alternative and had amazing concerts…
jeng52@reddit
I used to go to a 14+ dance club. For those of us who didn't have a drivers license we brought our yearbooks to prove to the bouncer what grade we were in. And then when we left at the end of the night, we had to pick up our yearbook at the front door.
pixienightingale@reddit
The place that was a Bullwinkles when i was a kid turned into a nightclub, which has a 21 and under night (which was really 18-20 naturally). That was fun to totally miss those hours the one time I almost went.
MyNameCannotBeSpoken@reddit
Fabulous-South-9551@reddit
I was OBSESSED with this show. My family had a tripped planned to Disneyland and since it was on the Disney Channel, I thought for sure I could go to the club and be one of the kids in the audience. The pain I felt when I was told that’s not how it works 😭
MyNameCannotBeSpoken@reddit
Disneyland did have Videopolis dance area.
graveybrains@reddit
I'm pretty sure it was called The Black Cat in Ferndale, MI...
In retrospect it's probably a place I still should not have been allowed to go. 😂
Lost_Advertising_219@reddit
Me and my Auburn Hills friends thought Ferndale was the shit back then. Loved hanging out there 😂
graveybrains@reddit
Same. Kinda lost its charm after the Gotham city cafe closed down
StevieV61080@reddit
Starlite in Decatur, IN. An "Under 21 Weekly Dance" on Sunday nights.
The building still stands, but I don't think it's been used in 25+ years. It was quite literally in the middle of nowhere.
I DID win a free T-shirt there, however, by knowing that the artist behind "Da Dip" was Freaknasty in a trivia contest.
flowbkwrds@reddit
Yeah we had one called Millennium. I went once or twice. Didn't stop me from sneaking into bars though.
Lost_Advertising_219@reddit
Was this in Michigan?
kmill0202@reddit
Yep. It was a building that had been different bars/taverns over the years. Someone turned it into a dance club that didn't serve alcohol. It was in a tiny little unincorporated town, but teenagers would come from all the nearby larger towns and cities because it was one of the only places in the region that wasn't 21+. I only went a few times because it was kind of a drive for me and my friends, but it was pretty fun. It was the only way us rural kids were going to get a taste of the club scene prior to going off to college or moving out to more happening places.
Moxie_Stardust@reddit
That's a funny OOP, I lived in Omaha the late 90s and don't remember hearing about that place.
Horror-Technology591@reddit
I went to ours a few times after I got my DL. It was awkward.
AgitatedKoala3908@reddit
Pulsations. Delco represent.
Practical-Door6917@reddit
This place called “Broncos” in NE Philly had a teen night. Lots of creepy old men came.
LowStrike5558@reddit
No but I’m Canadian and drinking age here is 18, so that’s probably why.
JoshDunkley@reddit
19 in Ontario... I still spent many a night at an under age club around the ages of 16-18
Normal-Ad-1903@reddit
Grew up in VT - we also just went to Canada.
JoshDunkley@reddit
We had a roller rink called Phoenix. In the back was an under age club called CW's. I sometimes wonder how they made money with just soda... Then I remember all the illegal drugs and shady owners, and Im pretty sure the two were connected.
Had some good times at both.
MugsAutunmGal@reddit
Yes, in a tiny little town in Iowa and we all drive in from other little towns! Had to take a breathalyzer to get in, and we danced so hard! Great memories.
chargeorge@reddit
ahh the graduate. More of a college bar, but the HS seniors liked to hit it up. They even had like all ages night for swing night.
ronpaulreuben@reddit
“The Oasis” in Arlington, TX. I remember driving by and wondering how all those kids in the parking lot got permission to go
naamingebruik@reddit
Thurn&taxis in Brussels was originally built by the founders of the European postal system in the 18th or 19th century and was originally warehouse and goods railwaystation.
It was turned in to a dancing. And these days is an event location with various activities
The dancing is long gone. I remember going there once for 10 years fuse (another legendary Brussels dancing) and holy crap that's over 20 years ago... I'm a dinosaur
Last time I was there was last year at bubble planet experience with the wife and our youngest.
SoCalFelipe@reddit
North County San Diego (Escondido) had The Icehouse.
millera9@reddit
Hello fellow north county kid! I never went, but I remember the cooler kids talking about it a lot.
SoCalFelipe@reddit
I never went either. I was in Delayed Entry Program for the NAVY and trying to stay out of trouble. But a lot of people I knew went all the time. Lol. I've heard stories.
MNxpat33@reddit
The Mermaid used to advertise on the radio, 16 to party, 21 to drink. 🤮
Fabulous-South-9551@reddit
No, we were doing drugs in abandoned warehouses at illegal raves. Sometimes even in the middle of a forest where you had to park in a parking lot and get in the car with a rando so they can take you there without blowing up the spot.
HighGlutenTolerance@reddit
DV8 in Seattle, it was practically underneath the Space Needle.
Meatball-Alfredo-Mom@reddit
Yes, I don’t remember what it was called. I never went. There was like a McDonald’s, Senior Froggy, the club and Arby’s lol
Spirited-Rock-124@reddit
DV8 and The Underground were both in Seattle. Also, Club Omni in the suburbs
Gatorae@reddit
Yes. Relatedly, remember those club "shirts" where the back was just strings? Yikes.
vankirk@reddit
We used to go to the Cadillac Club (Caddy's) in Cincy. There was also one near Eastgate Mall off Old 74 I think. Jeez, that was over 30 years ago and I moved away in 96.
RoyalPuzzleheaded259@reddit
It wasn’t a dance club so much as a coffee shop with a stage area for local high school bands to play. It was a lot of fun for the 6 months it was around. They got shut down because I guess having a place for kids to go and have fun rather than be bored and get into trouble wasn’t seen as a good thing by the adults in charge. Honestly though it had way more to do with growing up in the Bible Belt and satanic panic around grunge music. Especially after Kurt died.
instant_ramen_chef@reddit
I was a DJ when I was 15. I started at house parties. Then flyer parties. Eventually I hit the all-ages clubs, and then 21+ clubs. The flyer parties almost always ended coz of a fight. The all-ages clubs were creepy with little girls wearing their older sisters' gear(or lack there if it). The big clubs had better vibes, but they were still heavily patrolled by gawking men who reeked of Hugo Boss and Curve cologne. I preferred to go to raves where the vibes were infinitely better, and the folks were kind.
PersianCatLover419@reddit
Yes I did not go as I was not into raves, EDM, was more into phish and the dead, and there were sometimes shootings or stabbings outside of the club's over drugs, money, fights about ladies, gangs, etc. sometimes people got arrested for using drugs or openly drinking underage.
Secure-Force-9387@reddit
Illusions?
strippersandcocaine@reddit
Omg please tell me you’re talking about Illusions in Terryville CT 😆
Secure-Force-9387@reddit
I am not. Baton Rouge, LA.
Available-Fig8741@reddit
Yes. It was run by the police athletic league. And it was the shit 🤣
HallucinogenicFish@reddit
I never went to one, but I remember teen nights at some otherwise adult venues.
beachluvr13@reddit
Shampoo!
Normal-Ad-1903@reddit
The base lodge at Whaleback Mountain. IIRC they actually put a limit on how old you could be 'cause of the creeps on Under 21 nights.
apresmoiputas@reddit
DV8 in Seattle
Appropriate-Food1757@reddit
Yes I went a few times. I was more of a fake ID go to real clubs guy though.
edasto42@reddit
Yeah there were a few around. In retrospect some of the mainstream ones were weird and kind of sleazy places. The ones I started to really enjoy was one at the local punk club. They started doing a dance night on Fridays that was more goth and industrial. Those were a fucking blast.
reillan@reddit
Oh yes. I went every Thursday night from 18 to 22. Never resulted in romance, but I do have a lot of stories about my own density.
graveybrains@reddit
I see what you did there.
artfully_dejected@reddit
Not for me, but for our crew Omega was the 24-hour family restaurant that we could hang out at late while under 18…
MisRandomness@reddit
Yes we had one in Milwaukee. I don’t remember the name but I remember it being a literal dance club with no booze. I was 14 when a friend took me there - I hated it. I preferred the dive bars my parents took me to.
Acrobatic-Key-127@reddit
Studio B in Seattle. Was there most weekends for a solid year.
Weird_Squirrel_8382@reddit
Yep, it was at the cool kids skating rink. I never went.
Empty-Arrival-4396@reddit
Boot Scoot'n Saloon aka The Boot. Been gone about 15-20 years.
SmellTheRoses78@reddit
Yes, it was an 18+ club and I was always OFFENDED when I was the only one who got carded and I was the oldest 18 year old in my group haha
Sufficient_Turn_9209@reddit
We had an under 21 club for a while in my smallish town. The owner was a guy in his early 20s who had more money than sense. He bought an old building and spent God knows how much converting it into a modern arcade on one side with traditional games and VR stations, and on the other side was a "bar" and dance club. Looking back, he was just way ahead of his time, (and in the wrong area) because it didn't last more than a year. Barcades are gaining some momentum now 30 years later. Poor guy.
PaulmBeachPaul@reddit
Hunka Bunka changed my life!
petroldarling@reddit
They had a "dance club" at the roller rink one Friday night a month or something. Once out of maybe middle school it was NOT considered cool.
jessek@reddit
Denver had Rock Island but I lived too far away.
ryaca@reddit
We had the Rock N Dome, which was a barn with blacklights in the middle of nowhere. Oof, the drunk driving it took to get there...
mousee3176@reddit
The Portland one we went to had like 15 different names. Either ownership changed hands repeatedly or they kept trying to change the name after troublesome incidents. I don't know.
gsurcw47@reddit
We had a traveling teen club in GA called “Remix”. They went across the state and would rent out of banquet hall or auditorium in town and had a Friday-Saturday 13-17yo “club”. Wild times, early 2010s rocked.
epidemicsaints@reddit
I wouldn't be caught dead there because it was called Papa Woody's.
languagehacker@reddit
You know that scene in The Four Seasons where the guy is talking about a dance club called Secrets? That's an actual place in Upstate NY, and I went there many a Friday or Saturday night. It was weird.
Apocalypstick_now@reddit
The Seneca. I was never allowed to go, and neither was my friend… one night she snuck out and went, and her mother found out and showed up and dragged her out by her hair 😮
Seven19td@reddit
Yep it was at a banquet room at a local pizza place. I remember one time writing down the lyrics to “I Swear” by All 4 One and giving it to my girlfriend at the dance. I touched my first titty that night.
lobsterbandito@reddit
We did, but I wasn't cool enough to go and it's very unlikely my parents would have let me.
Piranha_Vortex@reddit
Yes!!! I almost forgot about those. We dressed to impress... lots of blacklights so we wore white or neon. Dirty dancing and grinding because teens are horny and it was the 90s. I cannot recall the name though.
miata_dad@reddit
My North Jersey peeps will definitely remember the radio commercials for Obsessions in Randolph!
JparkPHX@reddit
The Buzz in Scottsdale, AZ early 2000s
BigMommaSnikle@reddit
Fellow Omahan?
Automatic-Seaweed729@reddit
The Palace in Hollywood was 18 and over.
Fast-Damage2298@reddit
We had a dance club and a pool hall that had teen nights on fridays, but older men kept creeping around parking lots.
braywarshawsky@reddit
Orlando's... I think I went once when I was 16-17. It was not fun.
Then for a brief period of time, Raoul's Velvet Room was 18+. If you weren't 21 you couldn't get in the bar area, and had an "X" marked on your hand, which people would just rub off.
EvenLettuce6638@reddit
Nope, I don't know if such a thing existed in the city I lived in.
Potential-Celery-999@reddit
Yes, Limelight in Sunnyvale CA
russ257@reddit
Rick’s place young adult nightclub. Ages 15-20
QuietNene@reddit
With Alyssa Milano. In my dreams.
eulynn34@reddit
Yea, we had a place-- I don't think it lasted long because people would just go drink at house parties / cornfields instead
emptybeetoo@reddit
I remember in middle and high school, other kids would often say they wished there was a teen dance club in town. Then occasionally a teen dance club would open for a few months but close because no one went there.
No-Relation4226@reddit
Damn, I grew up there but don’t have any idea what they’re referring to. I was not one of the cool kids!
jenesia-CakeEatnNPC-@reddit (OP)
me either, no worries!
Boofing_with_Squee@reddit
Waterworks Beach Club
KellyAnn3106@reddit
The closest I ever got to a teen dance club was seeing The Bronze on Buffy.
If there was one in my city, it wasn't popular with the students from my school.
Sheshnation@reddit
Night Moves
FreeTicket6143@reddit
Yes a teen dance club in one side of town and a teen pool hall on the other.
Crazy to think back at all the shit we got away with.
Due-Vegetable-1862@reddit
Club X! I went there on mushrooms one time
Ok-Maintenance-9538@reddit
We had a club that had a wall down the middle of it, one side was "Generations" and allowed anyone over 16, the other was "Generation Xtreme" and was 21+
here4dambivalence@reddit
Oh definitely! I think it was New NRG in Fells Point, and there was another one on the Eastern Shore called H20. But by that point I was a big boy, all of 17, and had older friends and the world's shittiest fake ID so I went to the big kid clubs and bars. And there were a lot of house and warehouse parties that didn't give a flying V as to what you did. Ended up with Xs on my hands plenty of times though
Deep-Interest9947@reddit
Yes but I was not allowed to go on account of too much gang activity